News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that there were 177 travel agencies operating in 2010, up by 8 from 2009. At the end of 2010, a total of 3,034 persons were engaged in travel agencies, an increase of 6% year-on-year. Attributable to a continuous increase in inbound package tours and outbound travel of Macao residents, business performance of the travel agencies saw remarkable growth in 2010, of which Sales & Other Receipts soared by 33% year-on-year to MOP 4.74 billion, including receipts of MOP 51.91 million (1% of total) from on-line business. Expenditure of travel agencies totalled MOP 4.55 billion, up by 34% over 2009. Analyzed by expenditure items, Purchase of Goods & Services (including tickets, package tours and room reservation) reached MOP 3.92 billion, up significantly by 38% from 2009, of which Purchase of air, train and ferry tickets amounted to MOP 1.59 billion. Besides, Operating Expenses (MOP 257 million) and Compensation of Employees (MOP 368 million) rose by 14% and 10% respectively over 2009. In 2010, Gross Fixed Capital Formation of the travel agencies surged by 55% over 2009 to MOP 59.57 million. Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy increased by 10% year-on-year to MOP 562 million.
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In order to strengthen the knowledge of Macao youngsters on "One country, two systems", foreign affairs, as well as consular protection and consular services, a short film competition for all Macao secondary school students on "Consular Protection and Consular Services" will be jointly held by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Macao Special Administrative Region and the Identification Services Bureau. Organizer of this competition has got strong support from the Chinese Educators Association of Macao and the Union of Catholic Schools of Macao. Through creating, planning and shooting short films, the organizer expects Macao secondary school students to deepen their knowledge on consular protection and consular services, and thus has a better understanding on the relation between consular protection and themselves.
The above short film competition is opened to all full-time secondary school students in Macao. The film should not be longer than 1 minute, with consular protection and consular services as the main theme. In addition, it can be produced in any kind of format, such as photography, animation, computerized images and video. Entrants can submit their short films to the Identification Services Bureau between 19 September 2011 and 4 November 2011. Organizer of this competition will assess the short films around mid of November, and announce the results by the end of November. Prizes include 1st Prize (three winners, each winner will be awarded MOP5000 and a trophy), 2nd Prize (three winners, each winner will be awarded MOP2000 and a trophy), 3rd Prize (three winners, each winner will be awarded MOP1000 and a trophy), top shortlisted entries award (each winner will be awarded MOP500), and excellent advisor award. For further information on the competition, please visit the following website: www.dsi.gov.mo/sppsc. More activities for promoting consular protection and consular services are under preparation, and will be announced in the near future.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) has commenced the subscription for the 2012 Year of the Dragon commemorative coins since 01 August 2011. Due to the overwhelming response, the 5 oz silver proof coins have been oversubscribed. For those who are still interested in ordering the commemorative coins, there are still a small number of 7.776 grams gold proof coins and 31.10 grams silver proof coins available for subscription before 30 September 2011. Subscription form can be submitted in person to AMCM with full payment in cash, personal cheque or cashier order; or send through postal mail attached with personal cheque or cashier order payable to "Autoridade Monetária de Macau"(Address: Autoridade Monetária de Macau, Calçada do Gaio, No. 24-26, Macau). Please specify on the envelope with "DFR - Subscription for coins". Subscription form can be downloaded from AMCM's website (www.amcm.gov.mo). Public sale for the Dragon commemorative coins is not available at AMCM.
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The Cultural Affairs Bureau will hold an opening ceremony for the exhibition Beyond Space by Chu The-I and Kim Yong Sik at 3pm on Friday, the 16th of September, at the Tap Seac Gallery. The exhibition displays paintings by artists Chu The-I (Taiwan) and Kim Yong Sik (South Korea). In the 70s and 80s both studied overseas in France and the US, epicentres of the exploding modern art scene. This cultivated in them a pursuit of novelty in their creations and an incessant study of the art of painting, yet each artist developed his own unique creative style. Through representational and abstract work, and other techniques, the artists reveal the hidden depths of their consciousness, as well as their attitudes toward the art of painting. They have brought thirty-seven tense and powerful works to the Tap Seac Gallery, outlining a dialogue between the artists' different styles and illustrating their endless creativity. The Tap Seac Gallery is proud to offer these paintings, brimming with vitality, for the artistic stimulation of the people of Macao. The exhibition Beyond Space runs from September 17th until November 27th, daily from 10am to 7pm, at the Tap Seac Gallery, located at Av. do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida. Admission is free.
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Owing to a partial strike in Brazil, Macao Post announced that mail delivery services (including Correspondence, Printed Matters, Small Packet and Parcel and EMS) from Macao to that country are subject to delay until further notice. Thank you for your kind attention.
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Consumer Council pays close attention to commodity prices in local market. A list of reference prices for mobile phones is now available on the Council's website. Mobile phones have become consumers' crucial telecommunication device nowadays, and local mobile phone market has developed rapidly to include over 200 retail shops selling mobile phones. It is revealed in the complaint cases lodged at the Consumer Council that certain retailers adopt unscrupulous sales tactics or raise their selling prices for popular phones up to twice of the usual market price. To save time and effort of consumers, Consumer Council is working with the Macau Mobile Phones Sellers Association to collect a reference mobile phones price list from local mobile phone market. Consumer Council indicates that a total of 13 models from 6 different mobile phone brands are included in the first phase. Consumers may visit the Council's website (www.consumer.gov.mo) to check the reference selling prices of these 13 models, and their reference lowest and highest selling prices. Though the listed data is for reference only, the Council believes those prices and market prices are alike. Consumers are reminded to compare prices from different retailers before making purchase and determine whether the offered price is reasonable or not. 'Certified Shops' selling mobile phones and members of the Macau Mobile Phones Sellers Association both follow the 'Code of Practice' for mobile phone sellers to safeguard consumers' interests. Members of the Macau Mobile Phones Sellers Association also have the association logo displayed at their shops. Besides looking for mobile phones prices, consumers can also find the list of 'Certified Shops' on the Council's website. The above information will also be delivered to consumers associations in mainland China as 'Consumer Alert'. Consumer Council hotline: 8988 9315.
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As of 5pm today, the Macao Consumer Council has received 54 cases about the cessation of business of Macao Dragon for a total of 642 tickets valued at about MOP30,000. Consumer Council hotline: 8988 9315.
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The Seminar on "Government Auditing within EU Member-States", organised by the Financial Services Bureau will commence, Monday, 19th September, at 6:150 p.m., in the Auditorium of the "Finanças" Building located on Avenida da Praia Grande, n.º 575-585, basement. Integrated in the 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, this seminar will feature as its keynote speaker Professor Rowan Harrison Jones, Professor of Public Sector Accounting, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, UK and co-founder of Comparative International Governmental Accounting Research Network. This seminar will be conducted in English; during the five daily sessions, which will take place between 6:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. until 23rd September, the following topics will be discussed: 1. Introduction to financial and regularity audits and performance audits;
2. Internal control, materiality and budget auditing;
3. Audit: UK perspectives;
4. Audit: other European countries perspectives;
5. Audit: critical approaches. This event aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the public audit systems in various EU member states, so as to further enhance knowledge in this area. The 2nd EU-Macao Co-operation Programme in the Legal Field, extending until December 2012, which embodies this seminar, has the "Consolidation of the Macao Legal System" as its main objective. The execution of the Co-operation Programme is coordinated by the Law Reform and International Law Bureau, with the participation of several other MSAR's entities and public departments, namely, the Legal and Judicial Training Centre, the Legal Affairs Bureau, the Economic Services, the Financial Services Bureau and the Institute of European Studies of Macau.
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A statement today from the Maritime Administration said the operation of the temporary Taipa Ferry Terminal was not affected despite the liquidation of the sea transport provider Macao Dragon Ferry. The Administration had activated a contingency plan and asked other ferry companies to provide extra capacity if necessary: but there was no need to operate extra ferries. Despite the Maritime Administration having not received a formal notification from Macao Dragon Ferry about its announced liquidation and cease of operation, it would launch an investigation into the company's cease of ferry operations and legal liabilities, the statement said. It said the passenger limit capped on the ferries of the company was determined by the capacity of the temporary Taipa Ferry Terminal and the safety record as the authorities always put priority to the safety of passengers and maritime safety in monitoring maritime transport operations. The Administration had requested the company to reimburse passengers who had purchased tickets, the statement said. A statement by the Consumer Council said that as of 17:00 today, it had received 32 complaint involving 428 ferry tickets valued at about $24,000 patacas. The Council found that most bought their ferry tickets through 'Bee Crazy' and 'Groupon Hong Kong', two internet sites. The two companies assured the Council that passengers would be fully refunded. Affected consumers may contact the council (Tel: 853-89889315) for assistance, the council said. The council would refer the cases to the Consumer Council of Hong Kong if necessary: over the Council of Macao and its Hong Kong counterpart had always maintained good relations on issues of protecting consumer rights.
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Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Cheong U met with experts from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) today (Sept 15). Accompanied by MGTO Director João Manuel Costa Antunes, Secretary Cheong met with the group of experts from various aspects, headed by Andrew Drysdale, at the Tourism Activities Centre. Cheong thanked the experts for coming to Macau for the field visit and take part in the task force project. He also introduced Macau's tourism development to the experts while task force leader, Andrew Drysdale, exchanged their findings after the field visit. Also participated in the meeting were MGTO Deputy Director Manuel Pires and Organizational Planning and Development Department head Cheng Wai Tong. MGTO has requested PATA to establish a task force to provide expert opinions in determining the future tourism policies and plans required to achieve the positioning of Macau as a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure. The members of the PATA task force are Andrew Drysdale, executive director of Mentor Aviation Services Pty Ltd., Australia, Jon Hutchison, managing director of Business Events Sydney, Alastair Morrison, chief executive officer of Belle Tourism International Consulting Ltd., China, Lindsay Turner from Victoria University, Australia, Susan Warren, director of Making Tourism Work Associates, New Zealand and UK, and Stewart Moore, chief executive officer of EC3 Global, Australia. The PATA task force membership also includes Dai Bin, president of China Tourism Academy.
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